The year 1943: in the Katyn Forest, the Germans are exhuming the victims of the crime that the NKVD carried out against the Polish elite. The plan was to exterminate them. Many of the bodies cannot be identified. But there are some that can be given an identity. One man was found with an identity card and... a Warta Poznań club card. Their owner was Marian Spoida, a pre-war legend of Polish football. He was given the number 3624.

He was born on 4 January 1901 in Poznań in the home of Piotr and Jadwiga née Przybylska. To begin with, it is perhaps worth noting that there were two versions of his name in the inter-war press: Spoida, the official one, and a polonised one - Spojda.

A life for football
In Poznań, he graduated from the six-grade Maria Magdalena Gymnasium. He then enrolled in an agricultural school in Bojanowo, but this was interrupted by the outbreak of the Wielkopolska Uprising. He took an active part in it. The fate of Poland was not indifferent to him, so he also took up arms during the war with the Bolsheviks in 1920. In May 1921, he graduated from the Liaison Forces Officer Cadet School in Zegrze. He became a lieutenant-colonel. He was posted to the 2nd Telegraphic Battalion. After his service, he became a bank clerk. He was a great patriot

Football seemed to be the most important thing in Marian Spoida's life. In Piotr Barełkowski's documentary film 'Pyrlandski Łącznik', which tells his story, we can hear that he subordinated almost all aspects of his life to football. He revolved in circles of players, activists and coaches. He was highly respected among them.

And this passion was born at school. As a young boy of 15, he kicked a football at Chelsea club. Not at the London one, but... the Poznan one, as it was called, inspired by the English model. He then found his way to Posnania, and in 1916 to Warta. He ran in its colours for the next thirteen years. He was a mainstay of the team, which regularly fought for the championship title. He only managed to win the title in 1929.

He fought satisfactorily
He was a very talented player. He shone in midfield. Stanislaw Mielech of Legia Warsaw said of him:

"Did Spojda play when badly? He always passes well, dribbles out of position when necessary, understands the positioning, can shoot; is he worth praising any more? Let him only train to run, because he may when he gets a faster wing'.

In 1947, in Sport, on the occasion of recalling Warta's pre-war successes, he was mentioned as follows:

"This excellent extreme midfielder of Warta, who appeared many times in the national team of Poland, enjoyed not only in his team but also among all the players from other national teams at that time great affection. He was not only a good footballer, but above all a good colleague and an excellent football instructor".

The warm-hearted, smiling enthusiast actually made it into the national team. He made his debut on 3 September 1922 in a game against the Romanians. In Chernivtsi, in front of six thousand spectators, the red-and-whites drew 1:1. But the Poznanian left a good impression.

"The midfield as a whole, Spojda, Cikowski and Bulanov II fought, except for a few moments of weakness, satisfactorily," wrote Przegląd Sportowy in a post-match report.

Spojda played fourteen of these matches with the eagle on his chest. Probably the most important of them took place in Paris, during the Olympic Games. At the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, our players failed to beat the favoured Hungarians, succumbing as much as 0:5. The performance of the Warta player was assessed as average. "Sport Lviv" even excused him a little, drawing attention to the quality of the opponents:

"Spojda in the first half better than in the second, in many dangerous situations he was able to defend effectively. We lost the match and probably the result was too harsh; however, one must remember that the Hungarians are professionals, and there was literally not a single amateur in their team".

After his football career ended, he became a coach. In 1930 he started Legia Poznań. He later led his beloved Warta. On the first day of May 1932, the Polish Football Association (PZPN) appointed him as a travelling coach, and two years later as an assistant to Józef Kałuża, the national team selector. In one match in September 1938, he led the national team on his own. The Poles succumbed to the Latvians 1:2 in Riga. Coach Spojda took care of the physical aspects and fitness. He encouraged the players to run in the woods. He remained a warm and smiling man at the same time.

The World Cup and the war
A great event in the life of Marian Spojda and Polish football in general was the debut of the national team at the World Cup. In 1938, at the Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg, the red and white played against Brazil. After an exciting match full of twists and turns, the Poles lost after extra time 5:6. This result eliminated them from further play, but they left a good impression. Hopes were raised for the future of domestic football....

The dreams were shattered by the outbreak of war. Bogdan Tuszyński, in his book "Polscy olimpijczycy XX wieku", states that the footballer and coach fought in the defensive war, and on 25 September, in Jarmolincy, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets. From there to Kozielsk and, in April 1940, to the Katyn Forest. He was 39 years old at the time. Had it not been for the war, he might have been preparing with the national team for the 1940 Olympic Games...

During the exhumation, he was identified by his club ID card. Poznan journalist Radoslaw Nawrot, in 'Pyrland's Liaison', stated that this was "the only sports club ID we know of that was found in these graves". On 5 October 2007, Defence Minister Aleksander Szczygło posthumously appointed Marian Spojda to the rank of lieutenant.